Beer In 2015

The Beer Trends That Will Define 2015

Last up is one of the most exciting areas of craft beer and one that is just starting to get to prominence: the sour beer. For some beer drinkers, a sour beer will be just too much. They can be exceptionally tart, to the level where someone unfamiliar with them will question if it is past its due date. However, for the experienced beer drinker, sour beers represent the pinnacle of flavor complexity, with challenging but utterly enticing character. The chemical reactions that create sour beer come from complex fermentation regimens that create many unique flavors, and also a lot of acid with pH readings in the low 3’s! Sour beers certainly aren’t new — they’ve been made in Belgium for a couple hundred years — but their prominence has really been rising in the last few years. In 2015 you’re going to be seeing a lot more sours, and even starting to enjoy them on tap routinely at a wider range of bars.

The sour beer I’m showcasing this month is the Oude Tart, a delicious, bold beer from The Bruery. It’s sour, but not overly so, but also balanced with hints of dark fruit. And, if you really want to see sour beers flex their muscle, try them with food — artisanal cheese in particular is complementary to the flavor of the beer, as the high acidity cuts the richness of the cheese even better than most wines.